Let's watch both movies, I said. It'll be fun, I said. What was I thinking? I leaned my head against the couch and closed my eyes. Kek was asleep in my laps and all four kittens were off stalking in my bedroom. Which is where I was thinking about crawling myself.
"Are you okay?" Bakura asked.
"I guess I'm more tired than I thought." I'd forgotten that being in a constant state of romantic suspense is exhausting. "Maybe Kek and I should turn in."
"No, I wanna stay here." Kek turned on his side and nuzzled against my legs.
A sad smile tugged at my mouth as I combed through the myriad spikes that made up his hair. I couldn't help but remember the day Bakura sat and braided Kek's hair for his bout. Gods, I was happy that day. I needed to look up that video and re-watch it. I leaned forwards and kissed Kek's forehead. I knew Kek only wanted to stay because he wanted to be close to Marik and Bakura.
"Okay, few more minutes then," I said. Exhausted or not, how could I deny him?
"Mind if I sit on the couch?" Marik asked with the slightest wince on his face. "My back-"
"We'll move." I sat up.
"Stay there. I'm just going to take the other side." Marik sat in the far corner.
Too far. He was trying to be polite. Well, it had only been a few days, so of course he was still in guest mode, but I wish we could speed things along to informal even if nothing else. Bakura on the other hand never knew how to be a guest. His only setting was informal- invasive, really- and he dove onto the sofa and laid on his side with his head in Marik's lap. He poked the back of my head with his big toe and I smiled.
"Don't tease me too much, Bakura, or I might let it slip that you love lilac blossoms because they remind you of Marik's eyes."
"Fucking hell, Ryou." Bakura gave a playful kick to my shoulder, but I noticed the way Marik's face lit up at the statement.
"Is it true? Or is he teasing you?"
"Course it's true." Bakura growled.
"I honestly don't know what my favorite flower it. I've never thought about it." Marik shrugged.
"Hey Bakura, sounds like he's challenging you to figure it out." I elbowed Bakura's calf.
"Challenge accepted." Bakura grabbed his cell phone, presumably to look up flowers.
"Bakura stop. You just bought me a kitten." Marik's flushed.
"Hell no, I'm not stopping. This is actually fun. The rest of us should have thought up this game six months ago."
"What are your favorite flowers, Ryou?" Marik asked.
"Well, I never thought of it either, but I suppose I'd have to say white roses."
"I love you," Kek murmured against my thighs, still half asleep, but listening as well.
Now I was the one flushed. My fingers went back into the fluff of Kek's hair. That's where they seemed to belong.
"What about you, Kek?" Marik asked.
"White roses." Kek yawned and sat up. "Where did my kittens go?"
"Our kittens." I pinched the top of his rump. "They're exploring."
"Why white roses?" Marik asked.
"They remind me of Ryou," Kek answered.
"He gave me a bouquet the day he told me he loved me," I said afterward.
Marik smiled. "That's sweet. What did you give Bakura?"
"A six pack of beer," Kek said.
"What? Why didn't Bakura get flowers."
"We've explained that to you already." Kek pushed himself up and disappeared into the bedroom.
"Did I say something wrong?" Marik frowned.
"No." Sighing, I lifted up onto the sofa next to Bakura's legs. "The thing you should know about Kek is that if he's feeling something complex, more emotion than one at a time, he'll get flustered like that. He goes away so he can process things on his own without snapping at anyone."
"Should I go check on him?" Marik asked.
"Not this time." Without thinking, I reached behind me and patted Bakura's leg. There was no reason for it. It was simple what I'd do on any other night that Bakura was hogging the sofa, but the moment I did it I became aware of the action and somehow felt guilty for it. I pulled a deep breath into my lungs, trying to explain why Kek was upset. "You have to do certain things first, Marik."
"Who said I want flowers!" Bakura shouted as he sat up.
I stood up and started for the bedroom, turning around to shoot Bakura with my finger and wink in order to parody him. "Of course you do."